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RIP Typewriters?

The Internet was all atwitter yesterday when news broke that the last factory still producing typewriters was shutting down and halting production. The time-honored machine, which, needless to say, produced most of the literary classics that we all know and love, had finally met its end at the hands of computer keyboards. Just as video killed the radio star, it's been obvious for some time that the computer age had killed the "typewriter star," but yesterday it became official.

Except the typewriter isn't quite dead. It turns out the plant featured in the above referenced news stories wasn't the only one still making typewriters. Swintec, for one, is still producing them (they have factories in China, Japan, and Indonesia) and apparently doesn't plan on stopping in the near future.

It's been some time since I've used a typewriter, but I still have my old Smith Corona electronic model upstairs somewhere collecting dust. It was a Christmas present from my parents when I was about 13 or 14, and it was one of my favorite gifts ever. I find myself with a sudden urge to get it out, dust it off, and try typing up a story the old-fashioned way.

Of course, I'd still have to get said story digitalized... how else would I e-mail it to a magazine or upload it for the Kindle?

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